This year’s 4-H Entertains Talent Show was full of youthful talent and enthusiasm. The judges had an extremely hard time picking the best out of a field of sixteen “super stars”. Winners were Joshua and Mary Ellen playing a mandolin and violin duet. Also winning this year were Bryan and Justin as they “jammed” on the keyboard and drums. Alternate this year is Sammi who sang. The two acts will advance to District Activity Day. All the acts were great including singers, Katie and Alexis; clarinet duo, Hayley and Savanna ; a piano medley by Carlyn; dancers, Sammi and Janzen; jump-roping Bobbi Jane and cheerleaders, Amber and Rosie. Also, thanks to our judges; Susan Morgan, Jill Puckett & Nicole Mitchell, from the Extension Office.

Bryan on the Keyboard

Sammi Sings

Katie Sings "I Like It, I Love It"

Carlyn on the Keyboard

Joshua and Mary Ellen Advance to District Activity Day.

100 “Green” Foods Drive

It was not hard to collect 100 food items for this project. Actually 148 items were turned in and the winning club was Silver Spurs with 59 items. The Silver Spurs will receive a pizza party at one of their 4-H meetings. There were a lot of contributions from the Brunswick County Master Gardener Volunteer Association and the office. Donors were very creative in finding “green” food! Favorites include; green salad dressing and green (pistachio) pudding. At the talent show, the collection was presented to Lock Newlin, a representative from Brunswick Family Assistance for distribution to families in need.

Brunswick County 4-H Enviro-Warriors 1&A, lead by Angie Lawrence, competed in the Coastal Envirothon on March 17, 2009 at the Weyerhaeuser’s Cool Springs Environmental Center in New Bern, NC.Envirothon is a fun, hands-on, natural science academic event that challenges and engages students to think critically about the natural world and their role in it. The Envirothon combines an in-class curriculum with outdoor training to help students learn and to experience more about Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils & Land Use, Wildlife and Current Environmental Issues.Sammi Lawrence, Janzen Jones (SBMS), Jordan Taylor, Cody Huff, and John Macon Michaux (SBMS) competed as Enviro-Warriors1. Enviro-Warriors A included Savanna Michaux (SBMS), Grant Wallace, Rhen Huff, Maggie Bowen, and ChristiAna Lorezel.Both teams performed well and had a great time competing.Members of Brunswick County 4-H Enviro-Warriors will compete at the NC Envirothon Competition at Cedarock Park, Burlington NC on April 24-25, 2009.

North Carolina 4-H needs to find 22 host families for Japanese delegates and their chaperones by April 30, 2009. The Japanese delegates will be here July 24- August 20, 2009. Visit the 4-H International web site to find out more information about this exciting opportunity.

This year we also have the opportunity to host Norwegian, Costa Rican and Finnish students. Each country’s 4-H program has selected approximately 10-15 youth to send to America. Delegates from these countries tend to be older, usually 15-19 years old. The dates that these delegates will be arriving also vary according to country. Norwegian students will be here July1-30 and are required to attend NC 4-H Congress. (Cost for Congress is paid by Norway 4-H). Finnish youth will be here June 14- July 12 and Costa Rican students will be here June 21- July 18.

Another opportunity we have for 4-H families is the opportunity to host a yearlong high school exchange student. This year, we are assigned just two students to find homes for.

A bit of information:

In order to be a host family, the family must have a child within 2 years in age of the child they will host and also be of the same gender. All international delegates must have their own bed. Families are responsible for all meals and transportation including pick up and return for the child. Health insurance is provided.

Families must complete an application, submit 3 non-family references, and sign a disclosure in order to have a criminal background check for all family members 18 years old or older living in the home. In addition, local Extension staff must conduct an in-home interview with the family (all members present) and submit a written report with approval indicated. ALL paperwork should be completed by April 30 and must be completed before a child can be permanently assigned to the family.

Another opportunity we have for 4-H families is the opportunity to host a yearlong high school exchange student. This year, we are assigned just two students to find homes for.

A Bladen County 4-H Family are featured in the April issue of FamilyFun Magazine. The Hill Family (Randy, Kelli, Luke and Jeralyn) of Elizabethtown, NC are winners of the FamilyFun Volunteers Contest: Green Edition. The article is entitled “The Best Oven Under the Sun,” and highlights one of Luke’s 4-H projects.

As part of the contest, the Hill’s won $5,000 for the charity of their choice from The Walt Disney Company. We are excited to announce that the Hill’s have chosen Bladen County 4-H as the recipient of this prize to support our 4-H Scholarship program.

Last summer Stephanie Zapf and I participated in a program called CLIMBE (Center for Learning and Investigation in Mountain Backcountry Ecosystems). The camp was a week a long with the first two days being spent in preparation for backpacking and learning about climate systems. We were even given a tour of the NOAA(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) National Climactic Data Center. On the backpacking portion of the trip, we hiked fairly slowly with numerous breaks to take various readings from weather instruments or to do another activity. The focus of the camp was climate change and was collecting data for a study. This year Montreat is offering an exciting new group of camps: Caves, Climate, Forests, Rivers, Rocks, and Renew which are the names of the six titles of this year’s programs. An awesome part is the financial assistance which can lower the cost of a weeklong camp to $50. They also will let you borrow most of the necessary equipment for backpacking which also lightens the financial load. For more information, check out their website at http://climbe.org/.

UNC-TV will show a third 4-H feature on the North Carolina NOW program tonight. The spotlight feature will take place during the prime time NC NOW program. This feature spotlights NC 4-H Dropout Prevention Programs. The North Carolina NOW program airs during prime time (7:30 pm). In addition to it’s prime time slot (7:30 pm on UNC-TV) NC Now airs several times throughout the evening on UNC-TV’s digital channels. Please check local listings for additional air times.

Interested in how robotics work? Do you like competitions? If so, then the new Robotics 4-H Club is for you!! The first meeting is scheduled for April 4th from 2-3:30pm at the Cooperative Extension Office. This is an informational meeting for parents and youth. To join this club, email club leader Julia Zapf at zapfjulia@hotmail.com.

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Disclaimer

This blog was created to provide a forum for sharing information, ideas and experiences among 4-Hers, volunteers, parents, educators and consumers. The opinions expressed on this blog should be attributed to the email sender and do not represent the views of North Carolina State University or North Carolina Cooperative Extension.